NICKI MINAJ says she was very careful not to sleep her way to the top . . . quote, "No matter what my lyrics were saying, when I got around these guys, I was a prude, because I didn't want anyone in this game to ever be able to say 'I had sex with her.' And 'til this day, not one single man in this industry can say that and I pride myself on that.

We all pretty much knew that KATIE HOLMES blindsided TOM CRUISE when she left him . . . and Tom admits that in a new interview with a German TV station. He says, quote, "I didn't expect that."Tom turned 50 right around the time of the breakup and he says, quote, "Life is a challenge. To be 50 and have experiences and think you have everything under control, and then it hits you . . . that's what life is."Life is tragicomic. You need a certain sense of humor."

This could be completely bogus, but a gossip website claims that KATY PERRY was making out with her ex-husband RUSSELL BRAND at a place called Soho House in Los Angeles. Unfortunately, we don't have any pictures or further information.

There have been some rumors lately that CHRIS BROWN and RIHANNA broke up. But Rihanna had a show Monday night at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, and Chris watched most of it from the VIP area.

On "Letterman" last night, LINDSAY LOHAN said she's starting her 90-day rehab stint on May 2nd. She also called rehab, quote, "a blessing not a curse." Dave grilled Lindsay on whether or not she's an addict, and what she's addicted to, but she didn't give him any real answers.

PRESIDENT OBAMA has been deemed the most literate of the 10 most-followed celebrities on Twitter. KATY PERRY and LADY GAGA were close behind. Their Tweets clock in at about a sixth-grade level. JUSTIN BIEBER finished dead last. His Tweets aren't even above a first-grade level.

The National Geographic Channel did a big survey on the 1980s to hype an upcoming '80s miniseries . . . and one of the findings was that a majority of Americans think that the music and TV shows of the '80s were better than they are now. 71% prefer '80s music, and 52% prefer '80s TV. But "just" 42% liked the movies from the '80s better.

"Breaking Bad" will come to an end this summer . . . but "TV Guide" says there could be a spin-off, starring BOB ODENKIRK'S character, Saul Goodman.Saul is the crooked, strip-mall lawyer, who represents BRYAN CRANSTON'S character, Walt. He was introduced in Season Two, and has been a main part of the show since the third season. There are no deals in place . . . but supposedly Bob would be interested, as would "Breaking Bad" creator Vince Gilligan. Since this is just talk at this point, even if it DID come together, it would be a while before it made it to TV.

The NCAA Championship game between Louisville and Michigan was watched by 23.4 million people Monday night. That's up about 10% from last year, when 21 million watched.And overall, the tournament had its best ratings in almost two DECADES, with an average of 10.7 million people watching each game across the four networks that were sharing coverage. That's up 11% from last year's tournament, which averaged 9.6 million, and it's the best the tournament has done since 1994, when it averaged 11.2 million viewers per game.

Last week's two Final Four games averaged 15.7 million viewers, which was up 3% from last year. And "The Annual Academy of Country Music Awards" had its best ratings since 1998. But that STILL wasn't enough to beat "The Big Bang Theory". Here are the Top 10 shows overall last week . . .

1. "The Big Bang Theory", CBS, 17.2 million viewers

2. Saturday's Final Four game between Michigan and Syracuse, CBS, 17.1 million viewers

3. "The Academy of Country Music Awards", CBS, 15.5 million viewers

Here's how a few other big shows did in the ratings last week . . .

• The series premiere of ABC's "How to Live with Your Parents (For the Rest of Your Life)" attracted a solid 8.4 million viewers. It stars Sarah Chalke from "Scrubs" as a single mom who has to move back home because she's broke.

• The first season finale of "The New Normal" got 4.5 million viewers on NBC.

• The series premiere of "Hannibal", NBC, 4.4 million viewers. It's about the young version of Anthony Hopkins' "Silence of the Lambs" character.

• Last week's episode of HBO's "Game of Thrones" had 4.3 million viewers.

• The sixth season premiere of AMC's "Mad Men" had 3.4 million viewers, which was down slightly from the last season premiere, which got 3.5 million.

JON BON JOVI says he did NOT kick RICHIE SAMBORA off their tour. He says, quote, "We were surprised. It was 3:30 on show day . . . and we got a phone call that he wouldn't be there. It's a personal matter. Don't believe what you read on TMZ because it's the furthest thing from the truth."

Stacey Dash may get a sting from the Beyhive after this. The actress, who has been very vocal about political issues since the last presidential elections, has now turned her focus to Jay-Z and Beyoncé and their decision to spend their anniversary in Cuba. She's not very happy about it and she doesn't think you should be either. Dash tweeted, "Do you care that The Jay Z"s have taken the capital you have given them and funded a communist oppressive regime?"

Beyoncé and Jay-Z's Trip to Cuba Authorized by U.S. Government as "Educational Exchange Trip"